I'm literally about to cry.

After this there's only one more chapter left.

HOW DID THIS GO BY SO QUICKLY? WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE??

Anyways, I hope you guys have had a wonderful Christmas. If I'm not back with the last chapter later tonight, it'll be up tomorrow.

(SIDENOTE: If you have forgotten, Kayla Croslea was someone's winning OC from a competition in the first book. She met Ahsoka on the way to Lothal when she was assigned as the 501st's Force-healer.)

"Knight Croslea speaking."

"Hey, Kayla."

There was a long pause on the Force healer's end. "Who's this?"

"That's not what's important. There's something I need you to do for me."

"Absolutely not. I know that I've spoken to you before. Who are you?"

Ahsoka sighed. Of course, she wasn't sure what other reaction she was expecting. This was a loyal knight of the Order, and it would go against the Code to fulfill requests from a stranger. "You can't tell anyone I'm alive. Understood?"

"Fine."

"It's Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano."

"Haha, good one. Now, who is on the line?"

"No, really, it's me. Look, I can answer any question you have to verify."

A drawn-out silence ensued as Kayla pondered what to ask. "Where was the first place we met?"

Ahsoka didn't skip a beat. She even responded with a smile. "An Acclamator frigate on the way to Lothal. You had just been assigned to the 501st legion as a Force-healer and to aid CT-6116, also known as Kix."

"I can't believe it," Kayla responded, incredulous. "It's good talking to you again, Commander. I thought we had truly lost you back there."

"I appear to be full of surprises recently," the Togruta chuckled. "I've contacted you to ask if you can decrypt a drive. Do you mind if I transfer the information right now?"

"Go ahead. I won't ask questions about it," the Force-healer assured her. "Anakin is with you right now, huh? Obi-Wan and Rex too. I was wondering where they were going the other day."

"Correct. We're saving the galaxy again. I know, shocker."

"When are you not?" Kayla questioned rhetorically. "Alright, I just received the data. How would you like me to contact you when I'm done?"

"Don't. I'll call you. See you soon, Kayla."

"May the Force be with you."

"As with you."

« — « — « — « — « — « — « — «

"So, Ahsoka, you never told us what happened down there," Barriss pointed out before taking a bite of her dinner. The group was circled around the campfire again, huddled up in blankets, and pressed next to each other for warmth.

The Togruta grew visibly uncomfortable at the subject. Her fingers subconsciously trailed up to her lekku, where she remained toying with the ends. "I was just..."

"Oh my Force, Ahsoka," Anakin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I specifically told you no assassinating people!"

"I couldn't help it," she argued childishly. "He killed me first!"

"You mean he attacked first," the Jedi corrected.

"No, I meant what I said," Ahsoka shook her head. Although, when what she had just said registered in her mind, her eyes flew open and she started retracting her statement. "Wait! No, no, I meant he er... punched first! Yeah."

The unimpressed glances from everyone else told the Gray Jedi they were far from being her pathetic lies.

"You died again?" Rex remarked. "What is that now, three times?!"

"Four, actually. But you weren't there at Mortis."

"Imagine being immortal," Anakin snorted. "Couldn't be me."

"I'd like to protest that," Obi-Wan objected. "All your crazy ideas and plans over the years should've gotten you killed a number of times."

Anakin caved and shrugged in agreement. Sure, his plans were occasionally reckless, but they always got the job done.

"Now wait a minute, why are we acting like Ahsoka reviving herself again is just completely normal?!" Luminara exclaimed, glancing at everyone's faces for answers. However, all the other Jedi and Rex simply shrugged.

"Because it kinda is."

"I've got a plan, just hear me out," Ahsoka suddenly declared, completely refusing to meet eye-contact with her former master.

"How much of one?" Luminara questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"About... 12 percent. Give or take some."

"12 percent?!" Barriss echoed.

"It's a plan. That's more than what everyone else has."

The Jedi and clone grunted their agreements.

"I'm still waiting for the information on the flash drive to come back, but as of right now we know that both bases have the mind-controlling contraptions with a bomb connected to it. Trigger the bomb and you're dead. First line of business, evacuate the enemies. It's going to be difficult, but we have to. Then somehow we're going to have to destroy the contraption and get out before you're disintegrated."

"Which is practically impossible," Obi-Wan pointed out. "I don't even think you have 12 percent of a plan."

"It's a work in progress, alright? I'm just trying to get this mission done and over with. I've got things to do, places to see..."

"Ehem, you mean people to see," Anakin reiterated. Luminara and Rex tilted their head in confusion at this statement. "Ahsoka and Lux, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes-"

"SHUT UP!" Ahsoka yelled in embarrassment, covering her darkening lekku with her palms.

"Ooh, the commander's got a soft spot for the senator?" Rex teased, elbowing her in the side.

"I do not," she huffed defiantly.

"Nah, they totally weren't a thing before she went and died on us," Anakin sarcastically remarked, winking at the Togruta.

"Like you're one to talk, 'Ani'."

"Hey! Don't use that nickname!"

"He only dislikes it because he's got his own little senator too," she assured the others with a wicked grin. "Not naming names or anything, but her name rhymes with day."

"Senator Amidala?!" Barriss exclaimed. Her face quickly warped into one of understanding. "Actually, I don't know how I didn't see it before."

"I did," Obi-Wan spoke up, eyeing Anakin. "They're so obvious. He sucks at lying."

"I do not!"

"See? He just lied again. I can tell that easily."

"I-" Anakin tried to argue, but he reluctantly gave up.

"Back to the plan," Ahsoka redirected the conversation. "I'll figure out what's on that flash drive as soon as possible and meditate. Please don't interrupt me unless it's important."

"Good luck, 'Soka," Barriss called out to her friend as she walked towards her cruiser.

"Thanks. I'm going to need it."

« — « — « — « — « — « — « — «

"I've got it. The data appeared to be maps of three different planets with specified coordinates on each."

"Three?" Ahsoka exclaimed in exasperation. "As if two wasn't already enough. Can you list them off?"

"Let's see... Savareen, Endor, and Christophsis. I'll transmit the coordinates to you later. But there's also something else you need to know about."

"What is it?"

"There are bomb plans drawn out here at the bottom. They show some sort of connection amongst them. Like they all share a trigger of sorts? Or maybe a transmitted signal?"

"Kriff," Ahsoka cussed, kicking the toe of her boot into the ground. "Like if one is enabled, all the others will detonate as well?"

"Yes."

"You're joking," Ahsoka deadpanned. "That just made my job a whole lot harder."

"Commander, is everything alright? What is going on with these bombs and planets?"

"Just Ahsoka, Kayla. I'll explain everything to you later. Right now it's in everyone's best interest that this remains a secret. I'll be back to the Temple soon."

"I'm holding you to that. Croslea, over."

Ahsoka couldn't believe her luck. If the explosives weren't enough to worry about, now she has to figure out how she's going to get all the mind-controlling devices destroyed at once. The Togruta angrily tossed her holopad onto a nearby bench of the cruiser and sighed in frustration. It was truly like she was in a Mission: Impossible holomovie.

Ahsoka...

Her head instantly perked up at the voice. She turned to see Aylile standing behind her patiently.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, keeping her tone friendly and warm.

"Your studies as a Gray Jedi are far from complete. I feel as though some of the information you lack could help you complete your mission, starting with fighting techniques and powers," Aylile explained, brushing back a strand of her icy-white hair. "While it may be old-fashioned and not efficient, I have brought several books with me to go through."

"I don't have time to read through entire books for some random information," Ahsoka objected.

"I'll be helping you," the Pantoran assured her. "Just trust me, dear. It'll be worth it."

"Alright," Ahsoka sighed. "Where do we start?"

« — « — « — « — « — « — « — «

"Pyrokinesis?" Ahsoka read aloud, turning to Aylile.

"The ability to control the flames of an existing fire is common and simple," she began, looking up from her own book. "But the igniting of one is. It requires the user to rub air molecules together and create enough friction to initiate a blaze. It's a difficult feat, for sure. I've managed it once, but I was stuck on a snow planet and desperate."

"Interesting," Ahsoka hummed. "Now how about this one? Revitalize?"

"Bringing back the dead or healing the injured," the Pantoran plainly stated. "It's incredibly draining to the practitioner and can easily result in the permanent death of someone if done wrong."

"Bringing the dead back to life," Ahsoka marveled. "I wonder why we were never taught this at the Temple?"

"All the Jedi care about recently is being battle-ready. In their eyes, they don't have time to learn this, so they focus on basic techniques that are useful."

The Togruta sighed. Just another reason to admonish the Jedi for.

"Here's a good one. Hibernation trance, also called healing trance, is the method of using the Force to slow down your heart and metabolic rate so your body can divert the necessary energy into healing itself."

"That sounds extremely useful," Ahsoka admitted. Her eyes traveled down to her side, where the lightsaber wound remained. They had treated and wrapped it already, but she was intrigued to see if the technique could work. "May I try it?"

"Go right ahead," Aylile nodded. The Togruta closed her eyes and concentrated on lowering her vitals substantially. Then, using the overflow of energy she had, she channeled it into the wound on her hip. The Force tugged and pulled at the torn and burned muscles on her side, slowly forming new flesh and stitching her injury back together. After a couple of minutes of this, her body couldn't handle the low heart rate anymore and demanded she returned to normal. The Togruta opened her eyes and panted heavily, looking up at the Pantoran.

"Don't look at me. See for yourself!"

Ahsoka turned her attention to her wound and slowly unwrapped the bandage. Sure enough, the majority of the burnt tissue had reformed, so she was only left with a shallow gash and minor burning.

"It's going to take a couple more sessions, but I believe you'll be able to rid yourself of it completely. You should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you," Ahsoka smiled. "Now onto the next one. Protection bubble?"

"The name could use a little bit of work," Aylile chuckled. "It's pretty self-explanatory, but obviously difficult. The shield is generally had a blue hue, but the Nightsisters are known for their green ones. Blaster bolts and debris are generally what the bubble can fend off, but incredibly strong ones can stop Force Lightning too."

"This one is a bit scratched out. Something along the lines of Spir Frence?"

Aylile gestured for Ahsoka to hand the book over. After reading closely and attempting to rub away the marks, it finally dawned on her what was being hidden. "Spirit transference, though that will be a talk for another day. It's a trick of the Dark Side that us Grays don't like meddling in."

Even though Ahsoka wanted to pressure the Pantoran for more, she decided against it and kept reading. After a while of paging through, her eyes stumbled across something.

"This is it!" Ahsoka exclaimed, jumping up and showing Aylile what she had found. The two shared an excited glance, then set to work.

« — « — « — « — « — « — « — «

"New plan, everyone!" Ahsoka declared, stepping out of her ship and rejoining the others around the fire. "I've realized that evacuating the enemies without the help of the entire Order would be impossible, so I've come up with a different technique. Move the explosives, not the people."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"You don't. I've got that covered. All I need you guys to do is split up between three planets and make sure that the mind-controlling device is disabled. Rex will go with me to the Endor, where we will set off the first one. Once ours is destroyed, a clock will start ticking for all three bases. Barriss and Master Unduli will destroy the one on Christophsis, and Obi-Wan and Anakin will be waiting on Savareen. Does everyone understand?"

"Wait, you said there was a clock that would start ticking for all three bases? What do you mean?" Rex questioned.

"Once one is destroyed, it will transmit a signal to the others to self-destruct as well. I suppose Sidious threw it in as a backup safety and extra intimidation for us."

"But you still never said how you were going to take care of all the bombs," Obi-Wan pointed out. "And I have a feeling this is another suicide mission."

"It's not. You'll just have to trust me."

Everyone hesitantly agreed, then began milling about with their conversations. Anakin slowly stood up and gestured for Ahsoka to follow him.

"What's up, Skyguy?"

Anakin frowned, keeping his lips pressed together in a thin line as he scuffed the toe of his boot into the dirt. He finally worked up enough strength to mutter, "Snips, I don't want to lose you again. You might not care about dying, but there are others that do. I just want you to understand that if this is going to be a risky mission for you, I don't want you to go through with it. Think about me, Obi-Wan, and Lux! We all deserve our happiness too, but we'll never get it if our favorite Togruta is dead." Ahsoka could see small tears were trickling down his face, but he sharply turned away before she could do anything. The Gray Jedi rested a hand on his shoulder before responding.

"Shh, Anakin. It's alright. You have to realize though, that I'm always going to be in danger. There isn't a single thing about this whole operation that isn't risky. I can promise you though, that at the end of the day, I'll always come home. Don't stress about this, okay? We'll get through this together."

Anakin wiped away the rebellious tear that had slipped down his face and turned back to Ahsoka. "You promise?"

"I promise." Together, they walked back to the fire, relishing in the fact that they would have the strongest bond any master and padawan duo could ever have. It was true. They would get through this together, just as they always do.

Name a better master and padawan duo, I'll wait.

Actually no I won't, I need to get this last chapter written XD

I hope you guys enjoyed! See you soon.